Secret Ballot (2001)

A female election agent and a gun-toting soldier try to collect votes among the local islanders with mixed success.

Director:

Babak Payami

Writers:

Mohsen Makhmalbaf (original idea), Babak Payami

Stars:

Nassim Abdi, Cyrus Abidi, Youssef Habashi

10 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Nassim Abdi	...	Girl
Cyrus Abidi	...	Soldier
Youssef Habashi
Farrokh Shoja
Gholbahar Janghali

Storyline

A soldier stationed on a deserted beach wakes up and discovers that it's not going to be an ordinary day: there are the elections, but nobody seems to know anything about them. Just as an electoral urn is being parachuted from the sky, a young woman disembarks on the beach. To the soldier's bafflement, it turns out that she is in charge of the mobile electoral seat and voting on the islands; therefore the soldier is obliged to obey her orders and escort her with his rifle and army jeep across the desert, where the woman obstinately intends to collect the votes. During the day, stressed by a series of absurd events, the two learn to get to know each other. At sunset, when the young woman leaves, the man realizes that the secret vote contained much more than he had ever imagined.

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Plot Keywords:

looking at oneself in a mirror | vote | election | beach | election agent | 

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Taglines:

In Iran, This Election Day was just the beginning...

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

sourehcinema

Country:

Iran Italy Canada Switzerland

Language:

Persian

Release Date:

26 October 2001 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Bulletin secret

Filming Locations:

Kish Island, Iran

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,609, 11 August 2002, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$114,183, 13 October 2002

Company Credits

Production Co:

Payam Films, Fabrica, Sharmshir

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ra'ye makhfi was filmed entirely in Kish Island, a resort island in the Persian Gulf although it is not mentioned in the movie.

User Reviews

appealing Iranian film

I liked Secret ballot. It's similar to most Iranian films (even though it was written/directed by an Iranian/Canadian from Toronto) as it takes this wildly simplistic idea and then forms a story around it.

Secret Ballot is about a lot of things: the chaotic election process in Iran, the women/men relationships there, the isolation of rural areas and the role of women in Iranian society. That's four, you could probably find more if you wanted. A woman college age shows up at an outpost remote from cities and people and takes a sloth like soldier along looking for people willing to vote. It's harder to find voters than she thinks it might be as a lot of folks just don't want anything to do w/ the woman or casting a vote for the democracy that she touts ceaselessly. Secret Ballot has a good deal of sly, quiet moments and its this intelligent astuteness that I liked the most about it. I also enjoyed the harsh, remote terrain the film is set. The entire cast is full of non-pros who have never acted before and they do a fine job and are natural throughout. I especially liked the soldier who seems almost catatonic he's so slow talking. This is a very typical Iranian film: simple, slowish, extremely long and drawn out takes and full of non actors and real people. Plus it's a sly satire that has its own charms.